Dogs can tell when humans are happy, sad or angry, study shows
Machine-learning analysis found happy faces activated dogs’ reward-related brain network, while whole-brain patterns separated fear from anger and sadness.
- Researchers published a study in the journal iScience finding that canine brains possess specialized neural networks to distinguish human facial expressions beyond simple positive or negative valences.
- University of Vienna neuroscientists Laura Cuaya and Raúl Hernández-Pérez trained 14 dogs to lie still inside MRI scanners while viewing human faces, enabling real-time brain activity measurement without sedation.
- Happy human faces selectively activated the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, a reward center, suggesting that smiles carry intrinsic motivational value for dogs similar to treats.
- Distinct neural signatures emerged when dogs viewed negative expressions, with researchers identifying that canine brains differentiate fear from anger and sadness rather than lumping all negative moods together.
- Thousands of years of domestication have wired the canine brain to decode subtle human signals, providing direct evidence that dogs evolved sophisticated social skills through their 14,000-year shared history with humans.
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183 Articles
The scientists of the animal kingdom already know that dogs can perceive and understand some of the human emotions, but the biology behind this capacity is unknown. Now, a study could observe what happens in a dog's brain when he sees a human. The experiment, led by researchers from the University of Chile, ... Continue reading "Why do you have to smile more at dogs: study revealed how they perceive and understand human emotions" The post Why do…
Dogs can distinguish human emotions on the face - this is what a new study by researchers in Vienna has shown. This is the first direct evidence that dogs recognize and respond differently to positive and negative emotions in people. Scientists from the University of Vienna used machine learning to analyze the brain scans of 12 border collies while the dogs looked at photos of human faces with different emotional expressions. Read more: Slovenia…
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